All The Right Friends

I had ME/CFS for a year or so, in which time all my friends gradually stopped keeping in touch. So I see "I've been walking alone now, for a long long time" as I've been alone for ages, "I don't want to be friends now, with the friends that just stopped by" as I don't want to be friends with people who left me when I became ill, and "I don't want to be friends, with the friends that just aren't mine" as my friends have moved on without me so I know longer know them properly, and they can't have been good friends if they deserted me. "You've been looking, but your search will never end" as you can look forever for the perfect friends, but you'll never find them.

But the other versions work as well.

This song is about college life, and refusing destructive decisions.

Sure it's about the ridiculous popularity ladder of highschools. And how they've just relised that the whole thing is bullshit with people pretending to be friends with people they don't like just so they look 'cool' and think they get respect from people the below them who really only feel hatred or jealosy of them.

I agree... people who make friends with others just to get "street cred" - that's what this song is about. And how they've felt so alone even though they had their "friends" right there with them.

I don't want to hang out now.. with the friends that just aren't mine"

isn't it about someone against all that? in high school, my friends used to hang out with people because of their 'status' or because it was 'cool' to hang out with them... but i refused to as they weren't friends and quite honestly i didn't like them.. i just LOVE the song, its really catchy and the lyrics are great, the endings great too "I don't wanna be with you anymore" another awesome REM song.

"I know you say, maybe someday, i need never be alone"

I don't really like this song.. it was my least favorite on In Time. "It's the end of the world as we know it" should have had this song's slot.

But I do really like what they're talking about. Sometimes I feel like Michael really gets me almost personaly, you know?

I believe there's only one kind of friends; the good ones, "bad friends" aren't actually friends at all. I think the meaning of friendship is very underrated, people think they have a lot of friends when they actually might just have a few (which is not a bad thing at all). I think the message of this song is, "Keep your true friends close to you, don't waste your time trying to be liked by the people who don't accept you for who you are"

... and be able to recognize true friends from the people you just happen to see everyday {=0)

i prefer the original demo- much rawer and more spontaneous, though i admit there's better harmonies by mike in the new version.

for me yeah it's the feeling that you're friendless and alone in the world, but at the same time not giving in to being with others just to not be alone, even if it ends up hurting and betraying you severely in the end.

This is my middle finger song to everyone I have ever met

Michael Stipe is my friend, now and he says "all of you can suck his religion"